Lockout tagout assembly and system and method of using same

ABSTRACT

Lockout tagout assemblies, systems, and methods are disclosed. Exemplary lockout tagout assemblies include a base, an arm moveable with respect to the base, and a member extending at an angle from the arm. The member can engage with a circuit breaker in an off position to retain the circuit breaker in the off position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/988,089, filed on Mar. 11, 2020, in the United States Patent andTrademark Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to apparatus and methods forsafely locking out and tagging out equipment. More particularly,embodiments of the disclosure relate to apparatus and methods suitablefor locking out and tagging electrical equipment.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Lockout tagout (LOTO) assemblies and systems can be used for a varietyof applications. For example, LOTO systems can be used as part of safetyprocedures to shut off and/or start up equipment, such as electrical orgas-flow equipment.

In the device manufacturing industry, LOTO procedures are often used formachine retrofits, maintenance, installation, and/or removal. Inaccordance with SEMI standard SEMI S2-0818 Section 17, LOTO proceduresand specific practices are used to protect persons from electric shockhazards that can be caused by accidental energization during machineinitiations, maintenance, and the like.

Typical electrical lockout tagout assemblies use screws to lock andunlock individual circuit breakers of an electrical panel. Although suchtechniques can work well in some applications, use of such lockouttagout assemblies can be relatively time consuming and thus lead tounwanted maintenance delays and increased maintenance expenses.Accordingly, improved lockout tagout systems, and particularly lockouttagout systems for electrical systems, are desired.

Any discussion, including discussion of problems and solutions, setforth in this section, has been included in this disclosure solely forthe purpose of providing a context for the present disclosure, andshould not be taken as an admission that any or all of the discussionwas necessarily known at the time the invention was made or otherwiseconstitutes prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to lockout tagoutassemblies, systems including the lockout tagout assemblies, and tomethods of using the assemblies and systems. While the ways in whichvarious embodiments of the present disclosure address drawbacks of priorassemblies, systems, and methods are discussed in more detail below, ingeneral, exemplary embodiments of the disclosure provide improvedassemblies and methods that allow for relatively quick lockout andtagout and/or reverse procedures and to methods of performing lockouttagout and/or the reverse. The methods described herein can be used inconnection with, for example, electrical boxes of, for example, devicemanufacturing systems.

In accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure, a lockouttagout assembly is provided. An exemplary lockout tagout assemblyincludes a base, an arm moveable with respect to the base, and a memberextending at an angle from the arm. The assembly can be configured, suchthat when the arm is in a first position, the member is received by aportion of an electrical panel to engage a circuit breaker in an offposition, and when the arm is in a second position, the member is notengaged with the circuit breaker. The assembly (e.g., the arm and/or thebase) can include a magnet to retain the arm in the second position. Theassembly can include a retaining device, such as a wire, a pin, or thelike, to retain the arm in the first position. In accordance withfurther examples of the disclosure, the assembly includes a plurality ofarms received by the base. Each arm of the plurality of arms can moveindependently relative to the base and to the other arms. A singleretaining device can retain two or more of the plurality of arms in thefirst position. The base can be coupled to a housing of a piece ofequipment, such as a device manufacturing system.

In accordance with further exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, asystem comprising a lockout tagout assembly is provided. The system caninclude one or more lockout tagout assemblies as described herein. Thesystem can further include an electrical box or panel, a housing and oneor more circuit breakers. Each of the one or more circuit breakers caninclude a lever to switch the circuit breaker from an off position to anon position and vice versa.

In accordance with further examples of the disclosure, a lockout tagoutmethod is provided. The method can include providing a lockout tagoutassembly including a base, an arm moveable with respect to the base, anda member extending at an angle from the arm; moving the arm to a firstposition to cause the member to engage a circuit breaker in an offposition; and moving the arm to a second position to disengage themember from the circuit breaker. The method can further include a stepof using a retaining device to maintain the arm in the first position.The step of using a retaining device can include inserting the retainingdevice into a portion of the base. An exemplary method can furtherinclude a step of removing the retaining device.

These and other embodiments will become readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the following detailed description of certainembodiments having reference to the attached figures; the invention notbeing limited to any particular embodiment(s) disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

A more complete understanding of exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure can be derived by referring to the detailed description andclaims when considered in connection with the following illustrativefigures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a lockout tagout assembly.

FIG. 2 illustrates an enlarged view of a portion of the lockout tagoutassembly of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 illustrates a system comprising a lockout tagout system inaccordance with exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a lockout tagout assembly in accordance withexemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an enlarged view of a portion of the lockout tagoutassembly of FIG. 4 in accordance with exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure.

It will be appreciated that elements in the figures are illustrated forsimplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. Forexample, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may beexaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding ofillustrated embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Although certain embodiments and examples are disclosed below, it willbe understood by those in the art that the invention extends beyond thespecifically disclosed embodiments and/or uses of the invention andobvious modifications and equivalents thereof. Thus, it is intended thatthe scope of the invention disclosed should not be limited by theparticular disclosed embodiments described below.

The present disclosure generally relates to lockout tagout assemblies,systems including lockout tagout assemblies, and to methods of using thelockout tagout assemblies and systems. As set forth in more detailbelow, lockout tagout assemblies in accordance with various embodimentsof the disclosure allow for relatively quick and easy lockout proceduresand the reverse of such procedures.

In this disclosure, any two numbers of a variable can constitute aworkable range of the variable, and any ranges indicated may include orexclude the endpoints. Additionally, any values of variables indicated(regardless of whether they are indicated with “about” or not) may referto precise values or approximate values and include equivalents, and mayrefer to average, median, representative, majority, etc. in someembodiments. Further, in this disclosure, the terms “including,”“constituted by” and “having” can refer independently to “typically orbroadly comprising,” “comprising,” “consisting essentially of,” or“consisting of” in some embodiments. In this disclosure, any definedmeanings do not necessarily exclude ordinary and customary meanings insome embodiments.

Lockout tagout assemblies and systems can be used in a variety ofapplications, such as during maintenance work, installation ofequipment, removal of equipment, or the like. For example, lockouttagout assemblies and systems can be used to maintain circuit breakersin an off position during certain procedures.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a typical lockout tagout assembly 100. Lockouttagout assembly 100 includes one or more screws 102-118 and a wire 120.

Screws 102-118 are configured to respectively engage circuit breakers122-138 to maintain circuit breakers 122-138 in an off position whenscrews are in an unwound or untightened position, as illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2 . To enable access to the circuit breakers to be able toswitch the circuit breakers to an on position, wire 120 is removed—e.g.,by cutting wire 120. Screws 102-118 can then each individually be woundor tightened to enable removal of the respective screws 102-118—tothereby allow the respective circuit breakers 122-138 to be switched toan on position. Because the screws are individually tightened to beremoved by operators, performing LOTO using typical lockout tagoutassembly 100 can be time consuming. Furthermore, there are also risks ofaccidentally shutting down the machine due to the insufficient spacebetween the screws and the breakers. Furthermore, wire 120 can catch onone or more of circuit breakers 122-138, causing accidental or unwantedswitching of one or more of circuit breakers 122-138.

FIGS. 3-5 illustrate an improved lockout tagout assembly 300 and asystem 302 including lockout tagout assembly 300 in accordance withexemplary embodiments of the disclosure. In addition to lockout tagoutassembly 300, system 302 includes a housing 358 and an electrical panel420, including one or more circuit breakers 402-418. Electrical panel420 can be at least partially encased by housing 358. System 302 can beor include any machine or device that includes one or more circuitbreakers. For example, system 302 can be or include a reactor system.

Lockout tagout assembly 300 and system 302 can be used to lock out oneor more circuit breakers 402-418 for lockout tagout procedures, such asduring maintenance on system 302, installation of system 302, removal ofsystem 302, or the like.

In the illustrated examples, lockout tagout assembly 300 includes one ormore bases 304-320, one or more arms 322-338, and one or more members340-356. As set forth in more detail below, each arm of the one or morearms 322-338 can move relative to a base of the one or more bases304-320, such that a member of the one or more members 340-356 canengage a circuit breaker (e.g., of circuit breakers 402-418) to retainthe circuit breaker in an off position while the member is engaged withthe circuit breaker.

As best illustrated in FIG. 5 , one or more bases of one or more bases304-320 includes an opening 502 to receive a respective arm, such as arm322. An opposing end 504 of one or more bases, such as base 304, can beopen, partially open, or closed. One or more bases 304-320 can alsoinclude one or more openings, such as opening 506, through a side 508and an opposing opening (not illustrated) through side 510. Opening 506and the opposing opening through side 510 can be configured to receive aretaining device 360, such as a wire, pin, or the like. Bases 304-320can be formed of any suitable material, such as metal or a plastic, suchas polyoxymethylene (POM). Further, bases 304-320 can be integrallyformed with or attached to a plate 422. Plate 422 can be formed of anysuitable material, such as metal or a plastic, such as POM. Plate 422can be attached to housing 358 using an adhesive, a weld, and/or anattachment device 422, 424, such as a bolt and a nut or a screw. In theillustrated example, plate 422 is attached to housing 358 usingattachment devices (e.g., screws) 424 and 426.

A length of one or more bases 304-320 can be between about 37.4 mm andabout 37.6 mm; a width of one or more bases 304-320 can be between about14.9 mm and about 15.1 mm; a depth of one or more bases 304-320 can bebetween about 16.9 mm and about 17.1 mm.

At least a portion of an arm of the one or more arms 322-338 (e.g., afirst end 512, 514) is received within a respective base 304-320. Eacharm of the one or more arms 322-338 can be at least partially retainedwith a respective base 304-320 and move relative to the respective base304-320. Further, an arm length and/or base length can be selected, suchthat a member of the one or more members 340-356 can engage with acircuit breaker to maintain the circuit breaker in an off position andretract to disengage from the circuit breaker and allow the circuitbreaker to be turned to an on position.

The one or more arms 322-338 can be formed of any suitable material,such as metal or a plastic, such as POM. A length of one or more arms322-338 can be between about 57.9 mm and about 58.1 mm; a width of oneor more arms 322-338 can be between about 12.3 mm and about 12.5 mm; adepth of one or more arms 322-338 can be between about 15.6 mm and about15.7 mm.

A second end (e.g., second end 513) of one or more arms 322-338 can beattached to or integrally formed with a member of the one or moremembers 340-356, such that an arm and a member form a unitary structure.Each of the one or more members 340-356 can include a first end 515attached to or integrally formed with an arm of the one or more arms322-338 and a second end 516 to engage a circuit breaker (e.g., lever orswitch of one or more circuit breakers 402-418).

The one or more members 340-356 can be formed of any suitable material,such as metal or a plastic, such as POM. A length of one or more members340-356 can be between about 46.9 mm and about 47.1 mm; a width of oneor more members 340-356 can be between about 12.3 mm and about 12.5 mm;a depth of one or more members 340-356 can be between about 4.9 mm andabout 5.1 mm.

Lockout tagout assembly 300 can be configured, such that each member ofthe one or more members 340-356 cannot extend beyond a bottom surface of(e.g., a lever or switch of) the one or more circuit breakers 402-418when the circuit breaker is in an off position (flipped away from bases304-320) and when at least a portion of an arm of the one or more arms322-338 is retained within a base of the one or more bases 304-320.Thus, arms 322-338 cannot be dislodged from or pulled out from therespective base of the one or more bases 304-320 under normal operatingprocedures—e.g., after assembly 300 is installed on system 302. Further,respective members 340-356 and/or a base bottom can prevent arms 322-338from falling through the respective bases 304-320.

Each member of the one or more members 340-356 can be at an anglerelative to an arm of the one or more arms 322-338. The angle can bebetween about 30 degrees and about 150 degrees, between about 60 degreesand about 120 degrees, or be about 90 degrees, as illustrated.

In accordance with further embodiments of the disclosure, lockout tagoutassembly 300 include one or more magnets 518, 520 to facilitateretaining an arm of the one or more arms 322-338 in a non-engagedposition. Magnets 518, 520 can be attached to or placed within a base ofthe one or more bases 304-320. Additionally or alternatively, one ormore magnets 522 can be placed on or within an arm of one or more arms322-338.

FIG. 4 illustrates members 340-346 that are not engaged with arespective circuit breaker 402-408 and members 348-356 that are engagedwith a respective circuit breaker 410-418. Various members of the one ormore members 340-356 can be easily moved between an engaged position anda release position by moving a respective arm of one or more arms322-338 within a base of one or more bases 304-320.

Retaining device 360 can be inserted into openings (e.g., opening 506)in one or more (e.g., all) bases 304-320 to retain the one or more(e.g., two or more) members 340-356 in an engaged position. In suchcases, retaining device 360 can be below a bottom of an arm of the oneor more arms 322-338 or inserted through an opening of an arm of the oneor more arms 322-338. To disengage the one or more members 340-356,retaining device 360 can be removed from the openings within bases304-320 to thereby allow respective arms 322-338 to move to a loweredposition.

As further illustrated in FIG. 4 , system 302 can include a recessedarea 428. Circuit breakers 402-418 can be disposed within recessed area428. Recessed area 428 can facilitate one or more members 340-356 movingtoward and/or away from respective circuit breakers 402-418 and/orrecessed area 428 can be used to limit movement of one or more members340-356.

The improved design of lockout tagout assembly 300 allows for relativelyrapid and safe engagement and disengagement of circuit breakers that arein an off position. Further, lockout tagout assembly 300 allows for aretaining device to be further from the circuit breakers, therebymitigating unintended movement of the circuit breakers resulting frommovement of the retaining device. As a result, the new design is saferand more efficient than typical lockout tagout assemblies.

The example embodiments of the disclosure described above do not limitthe scope of the invention, since these embodiments are merely examplesof the embodiments of the invention. Any equivalent embodiments areintended to be within the scope of this invention. Indeed, variousmodifications of the disclosure, in addition to those shown anddescribed herein, such as alternative useful combinations of theelements described, may become apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe description. Such modifications and embodiments are also intended tofall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising a lockout tagout assembly, the system comprising: a housing; an electrical panel at least partially encased by the housing, the electrical panel comprising one or more circuit breakers, wherein each of the one or more circuit breakers includes a lever to switch the circuit breaker from an off position to an on position; and a lockout tagout assembly, wherein the lockout tagout assembly comprises: a base, wherein the base comprises an opening; an arm moveable with respect to the base, wherein the arm comprises a first end and an opposing second end, wherein the first end is received by the base through the opening, and wherein the arm is configured to translate along a direction of the arm from a first position to a second position; and a member extending at an angle from the second end of the arm, wherein when the arm is in the first position, the member is received by a portion of an electrical panel to engage a circuit breaker in an off position, wherein when the arm is in the second position, the member is not engaged with the circuit breaker, and wherein at least a portion of the arm is received within the base through the opening, and wherein a greater portion of the arm is received within the base through the opening when the arm is in the second position than when the arm is in the first position.
 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a first magnet to retain the arm in the second position when the member is not engaged with the circuit breaker.
 3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a retaining device to retain the arm in the first position.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the retaining device comprises one or more of a wire and a pin.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the member is fixedly attached to the arm.
 6. The system of claim 2, further comprising a second magnet disposed in the base such that the second magnet only contacts the first magnet when in the second position, wherein the first magnet is disposed on the first end of the arm.
 7. The system of claim 1, comprising a plurality of arms received by the base.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein each arm of the plurality of arms moves independently relative to the base.
 9. The system of claim 7, wherein a single retaining device retains two or more of the plurality of arms in the first position.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the angle is between about 30 degrees and about 150 degrees, between about 60 degrees and about 120 degrees, or is about 90 degrees.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the arm comprises polyoxymethylene.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the member comprises polyoxymethylene.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the member and the arm comprise a unitary structure.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the base is coupled to the housing.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein the system forms part of a reactor system. 